Seaver Presidential Professor Eric Strauss and LMU Visiting Scholar Ruth Galanter, have received a grant from the 2nd District County Commissioner’s Office of Mark Ridley-Thomas to establish a working partnership between LMU’s new urban ecology program and the Empowerment Congress. The Second District Empowerment Congress is a 20-year old not-for-profit organization with projects focused on improving the lives of local residents. The goal of this partnership is to engage underserved communities in Los Angeles in urban ecology and green technology by providing a suite of scientific monitoring tools that help neighborhood citizens of all ages gather critical environmental data and then use those data to bolster their stewardship and to better the ecosystem and social health of their communities. Dr. Strauss comes to LMU from Boston, where he co-founded and served as Science Director for a similar program with the Urban Ecology Institute. He brings to Los Angeles years of community work as well as consultation with other universities and a long record of research, publications and funding. The Honorable Ruth Galanter, former Los Angeles City Councilmember, will join the Urban Ecology Program to establish partnerships throughout the Los Angeles Region. She brings to the table decades of work with environmental, anti-poverty, and community groups and a long record of substantive community improvements. The $50K award will act as a catalyst for current activities and as a basis future funding initiatives. Opportunities exist for faculty and students to participate in the research and outreach efforts, which will begin during the spring of 2011. Planning meetings begin in November. Interested parties should contact Eric Strauss for more information (eric.strauss@lmu.edu, 310-338-7337).